Chapter 674: Storm and Rain in Nan Tang

When the news of the sneak attack on Yiling reached Ruzhou, Li Sheng, who was ready to go, immediately launched the Xiangyang Battle. The first battle of the Xiangyang Battle was Nanyang. As Linghu Fei predicted, the Northern Tang Army of Yuzhou was inserted behind Nanyang with an inability to cover up the thunder and cut off the retreat of the Nanyang defender. Then Li Sheng personally led a 40,000 army to attack Nanyang, and defeated more than 10,000 troops in the battle of Xiangcheng. Tian Shengong, the Nanyang defender, saw that the situation in the Southern Tang Dynasty was destined, led 40,000 troops to surrender to the Northern Tang army.

The loss of the important town of Nanyang means that the gate of Xiangyang has been opened. In just one day, five thousand Northern Tang troops killed in Xinye, and three thousand garrisons in Xinye County surrendered.

Xiangyang City was in chaos. At this time, there were still 100,000 troops in Xiangyang City, commanded by Li Huan, the governor of Jingxiang, but the real power was in the hands of Yu Chaoen, the envoy of Guanjun Rong.

Li Huan and Yu Chaoen have always had conflicts, but at this critical moment, the two's military differences heated up their conflicts. Li Huan advocated gathering troops to defend Xiangyang and strengthening the walls and clearing the fields, but Yu Chaoen advocated giving up Xiangyang and retreating to Jingzhou.

Li Huan accused Yu Chaoen of being accused of being nepotist, which led to the loss of Yiling and the army was unable to retreat to Shu. Yu Chaoen scolded Li Huan for using Tian Shengong, which led to the fall of Nanyang.

Just as the conflict between the two continued to escalate, unexpected news came from the Northern Tang Army that due to the fire in the Nanyang Grain and Grain Depot, Li Sheng's army was unable to move south for a while.

Li Huan was overjoyed and immediately led 30,000 troops to attack Xinye in an attempt to annihilate the Northern Tang vanguard and restore morale. Unexpectedly, the fire at the Nanyang Grain and Grain Depot was a trap. Li Sheng's army had already gone around Huyang County, Tangzhou, a hundred miles away from Xinye. When Li Huan's army arrived in Xinye, Xinye was already an empty city.

Li Sheng's army, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly penetrated behind him, cut off Li Huan's military rations, and trapped Li Huan's 30,000 troops in Xinye.

Li Huan's 30,000 troops were cut off from food and supplies, and he sent ten letters of help, but Yu Chaoen ignored him. In desperation, Li Huan led his army to break through, but his morale had declined. He suffered a crushing defeat when breaking through, Li Huan's army collapsed, and Li Huan himself died in the chaos.

Without Li Huan's restraint, Yu Chaoen decided to give up Xiangyang and retreat to Jingzhou. He took advantage of the Northern Tang army besieging Xinye and had no time to take care of it. He ransacked the Xiangyang treasury and led a 70,000 army to retreat to Jingzhou.

Once the war started, the situation changed rapidly. Two days later, Yu Chaoen led a large army to retreat to Lexiang County. An unfortunate news came. Ge Shu Yao, who came from Jiangxia, had led 30,000 naval troops to capture Jingzhou. Jingzhou Governor Zhang Weijin was killed by Ge Shu Yao himself. Zhang Weijin's family was exterminated, and 50,000 defenders in Jingzhou surrendered.

At this time, Xiangyang had been occupied by Li Sheng. Another Northern Tang general Li Baozhen who came from Jiangnan led 30,000 troops to appear in Yingzhou. Li Sheng occupied Xiangyang in the north, Brother Shu Yao captured Jingzhou in the south, Zhao Chongqi cut off the way back to Yiling in the west, Li Baozhen entered Yingzhou in the east, Dahongshan blocked the road to the northeast, and Jingshan in the northwest, Yu Chaoen was surrounded by enemies, the army was panic, and hundreds of deserters continued to appear.

At night, an army of hundreds of people guarded several carriages full of supplies and left the camp overnight. He was ordered by Yu Chaoen to go to the Han River to find a boat, but the team did not come back as soon as they left. It was not until the next morning that the generals of the Northern Tang Dynasty were surprised to find that Yu Chaoen was missing.

The camp was in a civil strife, and hundreds of generals held an emergency meeting to negotiate a retreat. Finally, with an overwhelming resolution, they unanimously agreed to surrender to the Northern Tang Dynasty. On the second day of July, nearly 70,000 Southern Tang troops, led by Sima Gaoshi, officially surrendered to the commander of the Northern Tang army Li Sheng.

The 200,000 Southern Tang army was wiped out in Jingxiang, but Yu Chaoen's fate was also shameful. After escaping from the camp, he took a boat to go south. His ship was full of money and was spyed by robbers in Jinghu. He was attacked in the Hanjiang section of Mianyang County. The large ship Yu Chaoen was filed by a water ghost and sank into the river. Yu Chaoen was killed in the fish's belly, which confirmed his surname.

The news of Jingxiang's destruction soon reached Chengdu. Li Heng fainted in shock and anger. He became sick and lay on his sickbed.

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At night, Li Heng lay on his sickbed, his face was pale and exhausted, and his face looked sick. Jing Xiang was lost, 200,000 troops were destroyed, Yu Chaoen abandoned his army and fled. Every news was like a knife inserted into his heart. In addition, his physique was weak, so he finally couldn't support him and fell down.

Perhaps the will of the person when he was sick was particularly weak, and Li Heng had already begun to consider his funeral. Standing next to him was Grand Secretary Dou Hua. He looked serious and was listening to Li Heng's oral orders seriously.

"I have been thinking about it for a long time... The prince is violent and cruel and easy to kill... If he ascended the throne... I am afraid it is not the blessing of the people in Shu. I will decide that it is the most suitable for King Peng to succeed to the throne, my imperial study room...."

Li Heng's oral order was intermittent and his voice was very small. He and Dou Hua were both focused, but they did not notice that Empress Zhang was standing behind the curtain. Uncle Zhang did not move, and he raised his ears and put them on the thick curtain, listening to Li Heng's words without missing a word. Her eyes were filled with shock, but she did not dare to move, for fear that Li Heng would discover it.

"That's all I said... You will discuss with Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Cui tomorrow!"

"I will not disturb Your Majesty's rest and will leave."

Li Heng closed his eyes and stopped talking. Dou Hua retreated. After a moment, Empress Zhang felt that Li Heng had no movement, so she slowly slipped out of the back door.

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Empress Zhang walked out of Li Heng's bedroom in a hurry. She was worried and walked through Linde Hall and returned to her bedroom.

"Empress, it's already late at night, let's go to bed!"

Empress Zhang sat in front of the bronze mirror and stared blankly at her pale face in the bronze mirror. The emperor fell ill. She felt that she was ten years older. If her son was deposed, what is the meaning of her life?

She sighed, "Has Eunuch Li not come yet?"

"I have sent someone to invite you. It's so late, Eunuch Li may not be able to come."

As soon as the palace maid finished speaking, someone reported outside the door: "Eunuch Li is here, waiting to see you outside."

"Please come in!"

After a moment, Li Fuguo hurried in and knelt down to salute, "The old slave Li Fuguo bowed to the Empress and wished the Empress a thousand years old..."

Before he could finish his words, Queen Zhang interrupted him, "Eunuch Li, now we should not spend time on etiquette, please get up!"

"yes!"

Li Fuguo stood up. As soon as he came back from outside the palace, he heard that the emperor had secretly summoned the Grand Secretary Dou Hua. He didn't know what had happened. When he was shocked and suspicious, Empress Zhang urgently summoned him. He immediately guessed that it must be related to Dou Hua.

"Eunuch Li, things are not good! The emperor summoned Dou Hua and decided to depose the prince."

Li Fuguo was also startled, "Empress, do you take this seriously?"

Queen Zhang sighed and nodded, "He has issued an imperial edict, as if he is hiding in the imperial study room. I didn't hear it clearly. I guess Dou Hua will take it away tomorrow."

Li Fuguo was a little confused. In the morning, the emperor told him that he would not depose the prince, and in the afternoon he asked him to go to Qingcheng Mountain to find the magistrate. He sneaked back because he was worried about Chengdu. It turned out that.

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It turned out that the emperor asked him to visit the tomb, and his real intention was to send him away!

After figuring this out, sweat from Li Fuguo's forehead oozed out.

"Eunuch Li, what should we do?" Empress Zhang was anxious, "If you don't think of a solution, the emperor will be deposed."

"Don't be anxious, my dear! Things are not at the worst."

Li Fuguo forced himself to calm down and quickly thought about countermeasures in his mind, "Empress, in this way, I will find the imperial edict first, and then discuss with the prince."

After all, Queen Zhang is different from ordinary women. When she calms down, she immediately has a countermeasure, "I will find a way to instruct the imperial doctor and not allow anyone to visit again."

"The Empress's method is good. It is necessary to isolate him. I will also instruct the slaves to cooperate with the Empress and not to make matters worse."

Li Fuguo and Empress Zhang both realized the common crisis they were facing. Although they became mortal enemies at the last moment in history, due to Li Yu's disappearance, they gradually got together due to common interests. At this time, they all realized that the prince's life and death fate was actually in the hands of Li Heng. As long as Li Heng was controlled, no problem for others.

There are some things that need not be pointed out, both Li Fuguo and Empress Zhang knew very well, and the key was to control the imperial doctor.

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Unlike Li Longji who monopolized 40,000 harems, Li Heng did not have that much possessiveness for women. He was only interested in power. This is why there were not many eunuchs and palace maids in the Nanming Palace. After nightfall, all the palaces became deserted.

Li Heng's imperial study room is located in the side hall of Qinzheng Hall. There are guards patrolling and guards around him. Several special eunuchs cleaned and sorted it out. He obeyed Li Fuguo. After nightfall, the gate of the imperial study room was also closed, and the side hall was dark.

In the night, several eunuchs walked quickly and headed straight towards the side hall. The patrol chief guard recognized that the person in charge was Li Fuguo, and couldn't help but smile and said, "Eunuch Li, you're here so late!"

"Well! The emperor ordered our family to pick up some memorials."

Li Fuguo quickly walked into the side hall, and the lights were lit one by one, and the dark hall became brightly lit. Soon, the lights in the imperial study also lit up. Li Fuguo had no intention of stealing imperial edicts in the dark at all. In the inner palace, except for the emperor and the queen, he was the heaven. He said whatever he said, and who dared to doubt him at all.

The eunuchs were waiting outside the door. There was only Li Fuguo in the imperial study. Li Fuguo served Li Heng for decades and knew him better than Li Heng himself. There were many things that Li Heng himself forgot where he placed, but Li Fuguo still remembered clearly.

Li Heng said that he wrote an imperial edict and placed it in the imperial study room. Where should it be? First of all, it will definitely not be hidden. Dou Hua can't find it even if it hides it. The imperial edict must be placed where Dou Hua knows it.

After thinking for a while, Li Fuguo understood. He quickly walked to the imperial edict box. Here, a golden box, which was a foot-long and two-foot-high, was placed in the place where the Hanlin scholars planned the decree. It contained the draft imperial edict of the Hanlin scholars. After Li Heng approved it, the decree will be officially issued.

Li Fuguo flipped through the golden box and found an imperial edict from the bottom. The seal had been stamped, and it would be officially taken effect.

He looked roughly and found that it was the imperial edict he was looking for, re-establishing the crown prince, and wait! Li Fuguo looked carefully again and he suddenly burst into a cold sweat. This was not the imperial edict of the deposed prince, but Li Heng's abdication and made King Peng Li ascend the throne directly.

It turned out that Li Heng wanted to abdicate and become the Supreme Emperor. Li Fuguo suddenly realized that the problem was serious. If he just deposed the prince, then maybe they had other ways to delay the breathing time. But if Li Heng abdicated and directly let Li Zhu ascend the throne, then the first thing Li Zhu ascends to the throne was to kill him, which means that Li Fuguo's life will be in these two or three days.

No wonder Li Heng asked him to go out to explore the throne! When he came back, he was just about to ascend the throne, so he could just take the surgery on him. He was so vicious!

Li Fuguo slowly put the imperial edict into his arms, and murderous intent burst out in his heart. He had never wanted to kill someone like today. At this moment, Li Fuguo made up his mind and his face was terrifyingly ferocious.

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The night was dark and murderous intent was filled with dark mist. A carriage stopped in front of the East Palace gate. Several small eunuchs ran forward and helped Li Fuguo out of the carriage.

"Grandpa, the prince is already waiting."

"Um!"

Li Fuguo snorted heavily and walked quickly towards the palace with his hands behind his back. As soon as he walked into the palace, the prince Li Shi came up, "Is there something happened to Shangfu so late?"

Li Fuguo's decision to win the title of Shangfu was Li Heng. He once trusted Li Fuguo very much, but now their relationship has deteriorated with the crisis of the East Palace.

"Of course I have something big to do, go to your secret room!"

Li Shi was nervous and led Li Fuguo into his secret room. He was tall, advocated force, and was full of violence. Perhaps this was one of the main reasons why the court officials, mainly civil officials, were unwilling to support him. They were more willing to support Peng Li Gang, who was well-read and had a weak personality.

This is also an important reason why Li Fuguo supports the Li clan. The interests of eunuchs are mostly opposed to the court officials. If Li Fuguo wants to take power in the future, he needs an emperor who is simple-minded and disgusted with the government affairs of the court. The Li clan is the best choice.

Walking into the secret room, the two sat down. Li Shi looked at Li Fuguo, his heart full of uneasiness. Li Fuguo's face was full of gloom and made him feel scared.

Before yesterday, Li Fuguo smiled every time he saw him, and his tone was full of joy. But today, Li Fuguo's coldness was the first time he saw him. The waves of his heart tightened, and a bad omen poured into his heart.

"You have a look at this first!"

Li Fuguo did not go around the corner, but directly passed the imperial edict in his arms to Li Shi. Li Shi opened the imperial edict in a daze, and his brushing ground became pale, as if it had turned into a clay sculpture, and the imperial edict slipped from his hands to the ground.

Li Fuguo looked at him coldly. When he reacted, after a while, the Li Shi finally reacted. He grabbed Li Fuguo's arm suddenly, knelt down at him, and shouted in a crying voice: "Father Shang, Father Shang, save me!"

"What are you worried about? The Northern Tang Army may be here soon. Wouldn't it be better to let him ascend the throne?" Li Fuguo said lightly.

"But! Before the Northern Tang army arrived, I was dead."

Li Fuguo nodded slowly, very well, if you can see this, this person is still helpful!

Li Fuguo stared at Li Shi with sharp eyes, "Our destiny is the same, do you understand this?"

Li Shi nodded, "I understand!"

"Okay, I have another way to save your life!"
Chapter completed!